1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a novel manufacturing process for solid oxide fuel cell-membrane electrolyte assembly (SOFC-MEA). It is a tape casting process to produce electrode substrate. After two-stage abrasion and polish, the substrate is subject to membrane fabrication processes like screen printing/sputtering/spin coating/spray coating etc., and then SOFC with excellent interfacial adhesion between electrodes and electrolyte is produced to effectively improve anode conductivity, and also prevent anode surface from forming Ni depleted layer to block current passage after multiple-stage sintering process, and also effectively increase SOFC unit cell performance.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Presently when crude oil production is shrinking and environmental protection consciousness is rising, seeking alternative energy source is an urgent task. Solid oxide fuel cell has high efficiency, low pollution, versatile modulized structure and sustainable power generation ability. It is the power generation device with the most potential.
The operation temperature for traditional YSZ electrolyte supported cell (ESC) is between 800˜1000° C. Its electrolyte substrate thickness is about 150˜300 μm. Mainly due to thick electrolyte substrate, ESC type cell operates at high temperature. The mainstream product is (NiO+YSZ) anode supported cell (ASC), which has electrolyte layer (YSZ as primary material) and thickness is around 10 μm, and it can lower the operation temperature to 650˜800° C. A common ASC membrane electrolyte assembly (MEA) process is first to synthesize anode, and then conduct sintering for electrolyte and cathode. It usually takes at least three high-temperature sintering processes (about 1400° C.). The multiple-stage sintering process would usually cause compositional change or deformation, so it increases cell resistance. The novel development for this technology is primarily to maintain the traditional manufacturing process and use a novel treatment process that can effectively solve the negative issues with multiple-stage sintering. This novel process can effectively reduce resistance, increase ion conductivity and increase SOFC power generation.